Chippewa Women Claim MAC Championship

Saturday, February 23

Kent, Ohio

Central Michigan University

MAC Championships

2/23/2019 8:38:00 PM | MTF, Track & Field

Final Results

Swieton named coach of the year, Beauvais earns 'outstanding' award

By: Nick Vuylsteke, CMUChippewas.com

KENT, Ohio -- Fifteen years ago, many of the athletes on the Central Michigan track & field team were in elementary school, running around on the playground, and probably didn't know that some day they would compete for a Mid-American Conference championship.

The CMU women's team claimed the MAC title on Saturday at Kent State Field House, making it a day they will never forget. It was the third MAC Indoor crown for the Chippewa women, who last won it in 2004.

The Chippewas finished with 114.5 points, 23.5 better than runner-up Eastern Michigan, the defending champion. The CMU men finished fifth with 46 points.

"First and foremost, it's awesome for our seniors," said CMU director of track & field/cross country Jenny Swieton, who was named the MAC Women's Coach of the Year. "I think they've put a lot of heart into the program, and to be able to go away with a championship is so big.

"Everybody on the team gave what they could for this championship, whether they were here or they weren't. I know it's the women's championship, but the men's team is such big supporters for our women's team.

"All the people that came before (this team) did the work to put them in this spot where we're in right now. And we just tried to show what the Chippewas are capable of, and also make everyone proud. All the program donors, alumni, and everybody who helped to put us in the best position possible to win. There's so many people who played a role in this championship. We couldn't have done it without them."

CMU junior Gabriella Beauvais earned the Outstanding Track Performer of the Meet Award, becoming the first female Chippewa so honored since Erika Schroll in 2010.

Chippewa assistant coach Bryant Wilson earned the league's Assistant Women's Coach of the Year Award.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Beauvais and teammate Samantha Cuneo placed first and second, respectively, in the women's 400-meter run. Both did it in style, breaking the previous CMU program record, 53.76 seconds, set in 2014 by Shawntoreah Turk.

Beauvais finished in 53.55, while Cuneo came in at 53.66.

The Chippewas' Nadia Williams placed second in the women's 200-meter dash, breaking the record she had set some 24 hours earlier during a preliminary heat. She finished in 23.84 seconds. Her Friday mark was 24.12. Beauvais finished sixth in 24.34.

The Chippewa women also got second-place finishes from Janelle Perry and Erin Howard. Perry was second in the 60-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in 8.32 seconds; Howard was runner-up in the shot put, her best throw measuring 51 feet, 10 ½ inches.

Cuneo, Beauvais, Simonae Dismuke and Jayden Williams combined to place third in the women's 4x400 relay.

The Chippewas' Kirsten Olling and Hannah Davis placed in fifth and seventh, respectively, in the 3,000-meter run. Olling's time was 9:50.09, while Davis came in at 9:54.25.

CMU's Tamara Grahovac finished seventh in the triple jump at 29-3 ¾.

THE MEN
CMU's Kevin Weiler won the shot put at 59-9 ¾, and the Chippewas' 4x400 relay team placed second in 3:12.92. Gavin Jaime, Jack Dodge, Roshawn Morton and Jackson Blanchard comprised the relay squad.

Dodge earned a second-place finish in the 400-meter dash, finishing in a program-record 46.82 and leading a strong showing by the Chippewas in the event. CMU's Benjamin Hayes (47.28) was third and Jaime placed sixth (48.46).

Dodge, who also placed fourth in the 200 (21.29), eclipsed Steve Wezner's 400 record (46.97) set in 2006. It also marked the first time that Dodge, a sophomore, had run a sub-48-second 400.

The Chippewas' Ryan Taylor placed sixth in the triple jump at 49-5 ¾.

HONORS
Athletes placing first in an event earn First Team All-MAC honors, while those placing second are named to the All-MAC Second Team.

Beauvais, Weiler and Dodge were each named to the first team, while Cuneo, Williams, Perry, Howard, Jaime, Morton, Dodge and Blanchard each earned a spot on the second team.

On Friday, the first day of the Championships, Williams earned a first-team spot by virtue of winning the women's long jump, while Perry, Rebekah Petty and Megan O'Neil earned second-team accolades.

WORK AHEAD
The Chippewas will get to work immediately in preparation for the outdoor season. They open on March 22-23 at the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic in Nashville, Tenn.

"We just have to do what we've been doing," Swieton said. "One of the reasons why we were so successful was that we weren't overconfident, we respected our competition, and we believed we could win. Everybody stayed calm, did what we needed to do.

"And now we go into outdoors like we did today. We know it's not going to come easy. We still have to work really hard, put our nose down, take care of business and break more program records."